Girls basketball notes: Maine South surging with balanced attack; Donovan’s big game lifts Hersey
Maine South enjoyed a superb week with wins over two quality opponents in Fremd and Glenbrook South.
And impressively enough, in each game, the top three scorers for the Hawks were six different players.
"What is especially encouraging is the fact that our three leading scorers on Tuesday (vs. Fremd at the Lake Zurich Exam Jamm) were Gianna LaVecchia (17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), Addie Kopf (12 points) and Phoebe O'Shea (10 points)," said coach Jeff Hamann.
"Then we had three different leading scorers on Friday night (vs. Glenbrook South): Emily Currey (14 points, 7 rebounds), Amelia Fernandez (13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Hayden Fahy (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals).
"Coming into the season we were expecting, maybe hoping, we were going to be deep with multiple scoring options,. The fact that we had six different players score in double digits against some of the best teams in the area is a huge positive for us."
LaVecchia, (5-foot-4 junior point guard) was honored as player of the game both at the Dave Yates Shootout and the Exam Jamm.
Along with her impressive performance on Tuesday against Fremd, LaVecchia collected 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals against Carmel.
She also added 7 points and 8 assists on Friday night against Glenbrook South. Her assist:turnover ratio is now at 2.2 to 1.
Hersey: New Jersey Institute of Technology pledge Kate Donovan produced her career high of 26 points and it paid off with a big win at Fremd in the Mid-Suburban East test last Friday night in Palatine.
The standout guard also dished out 8 assists while teammates Sadie Marks and Etta Fischer were also in double figures, scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively.
The Huskies' defense down the stretch gave up only 5 points in the fourth quarter. The Huskies also played Vernon Hills in the Lake Zurich Exam Jamm, winning 50-27.
Prospect: The Knights' roster includes four freshmen this season with McKenna Carroll, Mia Marling, Ashley Skelton and Tess Brennan. Carroll (point guard) and Marling (forward) are starters.
Marling averages 9 points per game and recently scored 16 points in a big MSL East win over Rolling Meadows. She had 15 in a loss to Benet at Lake Zurich's Exam Jamm.
Fremd: After dropping its first two games after seven straight wins, Fremd (8-2) bounced back smartly with a 52-47 triumph over a 7-3 Carmel squad on Saturday in Mundelein.
Seniors Greta Thompson and Lucy Kim combined for eight of the Vikes' 10 3-pointers in the game.
Thompson had five in the game along with 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks while Kim netted a team-high 18 points, hitting two of her three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Maine West: Coach Deanna Tuttle's Warriors are off to their best start in five seasons with a record of 7-2.
They took first place in the first Elk Grove Thanksgiving tournament and are looking forward to playing in the Dundee-Crown Komaromy Classic which they have competed in since 1985.
In a 'Pack the Place' game at Maine East for the first time since 2015, West won the game, 47-41, and had a breakout performance from freshman Dayliana Rodriguez. She had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks off the bench.
The Warriors remained undefeated in the CSL North with the Friday night win.
"It's been great,“ Tuttle said. "This is such a fun group. They're always fun to work with them and it's especially fun when they play like they did against Maine East to get the win."
The Warriors will have another 'Pack the Place' event against Maine East at their home on Jan. 23. The boys will play first and the girls will follow.
On Jan. 3, it will be a family event when the Warriors face Wheeling, which is coached by Tuttle's sister Kellie Braase.
Tuttle and Braase, nee Kuzmanic, starred at Wheeling High School.
The sister matchup will take place at 11:30 a.m. at Evanston High School as part of the Grow the game shootout.
New Trier is playing Hersey at 10 a.m. before Wheeling and Maine West take the floor.
And guess who coaches New Trier? Tuttle and Braase's oldest sister, Stephanie, who also starred at Wheeling.
Buffalo Grove: For the first time in six seasons, the Bison (2-0 In the MSL West) have won four straight games (Elk Grove, Glenbard North, Conant, and Resurrection).
"The team has bought into a team first mentality with everyone accepting their roles and contributing in little ways," said coach Martha Kelly.
During the four-game winning streak, sophomore Olivia Hill has been contributing 15 points and 10.5 rebounds including a career-high 21 points vs. Resurrection.
Senior Hannah Weber has averaged 11.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals over the same stretch, including a 17-point, 15-rebound performance at Glenbard North. Both are career highs.
Additionally, freshman Annie Sadowski stepped into a starting role and is contributing 10.8 points and 3 steals per game while sophomore Kayla Daugird has 24 assists (6 per game) while guarding the opponent's best player. She had a career-high 10 assists vs. Resurrection.
"We go as she (Daugird) goes," Kelly said. "Litsa Karavitis (sophomore) and Amanda Kowalski (junior) do all the little things when you need them. They get that much needed rebound, steal, big shot, etc. They are the glue that binds us all together."
The Bison (6-3) have a home game on Friday vs. Wheeling and then travel to the Marian Catholic Shootout on Saturday vs. undefeated DePaul College Prep (10-0). After that, they'll compete in the tradition-rich Komopramy Classic at Dundee-Crown High School.
Rolling Meadows: Meadows is 7-2 and won both of its shootout games at the Dave Yates Showcase vs. Grayslake Central and Lake Zurich Exam Jamm vs. Libertyville.
Nellie Osterhues was named Player of the Game for both games.
The Mustangs lost their MSL East game against Prospect last Thursday and have another big one at Hersey on Friday.
"We've been very balanced with our scoring early in the season," said coach Ryan Kirkosky. "We're also looking forward to competing in the Loyola Academy Christmas tourney."
Maine East: Arabella Silva broke the program's all-time scoring record (1,369 points by Caya Apostolou) when she scored 22 points against Thornton Fractional South (54-43 loss) on Nov. 25 in the third-place game of Maine East Thanksgiving tourney.
"It was only a matter of time before Bella would break the school record," said Blue Demons assistant coach Evan Rabens. "We realized after scoring over 500 points her freshman season she was already about halfway there. Even on her off nights she's capable of scoring 15 a game. Her next milestone is 2,000 points and more to put her name in the record books forever here at Maine East."
The Blue Demons have a young inexperienced team.
"We've had players step up in moments such as Marie Matsumoto scoring 15 points in the first game of the season and Heidi Cortez scoring 11 points vs. Highland Park while playing almost the entire game," Rabens said. "Our team is led by Arabella in points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks."
Maine East is playing in the Elmwood Park Holiday Winter tournament where it hopes to take the crown.
Willows Academy: The Eagles (7-2) have won six in a row.
Junior Maura Crimmins (19 points and 8 assists), freshman Kamila Mikula (18 pts) led Willows in a 64-35 win over Rochelle Zell. Freshman Kamila Mikula (18 pts, 7 steals) led the team in a 64-19 over Woodlands Academy.
Junior Maura Crimmins popped in 20 points and 5 assists in a 43-32 win over a 7-2 Maine West squad while Mikula (25 points and 4 steals) and Crimmins (22 points, 7 assists) were leaders in a 64-58 decision over North Shore Country Day.
After the NSCD win, Crimmins was 38 points from 1,000 for her career, and is currently averaging 16 ppg.
Mikula has had a superb start to her career, averaging 15 ppg while junior post Stephanie Tirpak recently averaged 18 rebounds in a four-game stretch.
Wheeling: Wheeling just missed winning in a 44-40 double overtime loss against Niles North.
"Sadly, we fell just short but the girls played hard and gave it all they got," said Wildcats coach Kellie Braase.
Sophomore Laila Crump has been leading Wheeling by averaging 8.9 points while Madison O'Rourke has been a staple on the defensive end.
The Wildcats are competing in the Regina Snowflake tournament.